Steve Borthwick, who was Martin Johnson's captain for 20 consecutive Tests, has been was dropped from England's elite player squad. The Saracens lock paid the price for not being around when Johnson's team beat Australia 21-20 in Sydney last month, a performance of the kind they will need if they are to make an impression at the World Cup in New Zealand next year.

Borthwick, who missed England's tour while recovering from a knee injury, lost the captaincy to the Bath flanker Lewis Moody at the end of the Six Nations. He has now lost his Test place after winning 57 caps since 2001. He has been named in the second-string Saxons squad.

Johnson said: "He's done a fantastic job for England over the last couple of years and it's the most difficult call we've had to make. It is very tough on Steve but it goes to show the depth of talent we've got in that area."

In Sydney, Tom Palmer and Courtney Lawes, making his first Test start, looked like a modern second-row combination, quick around the pitch yet beefy enough to make the hard yards in congested areas. The 24-year-old Gloucester lock Dave Attwood looks to be the next cab off rank after impressive displays in the midweek matches down under, followed by Wasps' Dan Ward-Smith, Geoff Parling and his new partner at Leicester, the former Wasp George Skivington, and possibly Newcastle's new captain, James Hudson.

With the 36-year-old Simon Shaw retaining his elite place despite a poor performance in the 27-17 first-Test defeat in Perth, the second row has gone from being an area of relative weakness to one of potential strength.

Johnson said: "We want to build on what we've done this summer and a southern-hemisphere tour that was hugely beneficial and a really positive experience for the group. We were able to give lots of opportunities to players and expose them to a high level of rugby."

The England manager has picked a squad which repays the players who won in Sydney. All 22 men who came up with the most important victory of Johnson's managerial career are in the 32 for autumn Tests against New Zealand, Australia, Samoa and South Africa.

Other casualties include the Harlequins wing Ugo Monye and the Bath hooker Lee Mears, who were both Lions in South Africa a year ago, the Sale centre Mathew Tait and the Leicester lock Louis Deacon. They are all in the Saxons squad. The Wasps tighthead prop Phil Vickery, another former England captain, does not figure in either squad after a lengthy absence with injury. The Sale loosehead prop Andrew Sheridan rejoins the elite despite having had both shoulders reconstructed.

Vickery's place in the elite squad has gone to Paul Doran-Jones of Gloucester who as almost the only fit, England-qualified tighthead around last autumn, earned a first cap against Argentina. He is now a firm favourite with the England scrum coach, Graham Rowntree.

The Leicester tighthead Dan Cole and scrum-half Ben Youngs have been promoted to the elite squad along with the South Africa-born Leeds flanker Hendre Fourie and the uncapped Wasps centre Dominic Waldouck, who were both injured on tour. Johnson has also retained the veteran Wasps flanker Joe Worsley, despite an indifferent tour.

Forty-six players were used in Australia and New Zealand. Six Saxons – the Northampton back-rower Phil Dowson, Parling, the Quins flanker Chris Robshaw, the Wasps lock Ward-Smith and hooker Rob Webber and the Sale fly-half Charlie Hodgson – made persuasive cases for either an international future or a recall.

Two experienced backs are missing from the 64 names in the elite and Saxons squads. Harry Ellis, the Leicester and Lions scrum-half, is recovering from ongoing knee problems, having played only twice last season. The Bath centre Olly Barkley toured with the senior squad after missing most of the domestic season with injury.